Out for a morning stroll in Yellowstone National Park, this handsome boar was somewhat of a picky eater. Not just any grass or flower would do. Nope, he had to have the flower buds that had not yet opened.
We watched him meander through a little valley opting only for this one type of flower. Here, you see him just before he chomps on one of the tasty morsels. Taken one month ago today, this was the second of three adult black bears we saw that morning.
Decades ago, it was common for people to feed the bears and indeed, the National Park Service encouraged it. Trash dumps were a popular viewing area and the rangers even put on lectures at them while the bears sorted through the refuse.
I still remember as a kid visiting the park and a bear standing on its hind legs, looking into our old Pontiac station wagon for a handout. Thankfully, officials realized that type of interaction was bad for the bears and dangerous for the humans and put an end to those shenanigans.
Today, the bears have returned to their natural instincts and diet and while it may not be so easy to find them now, it makes the encounters far more special I think.
